


Caprica University

by Laura_Mayfair



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Community: bsg_epics, F/M, Flirting, Friendship, Gen, Holiday Fic Exchange, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2013-12-15
Packaged: 2018-01-04 17:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_Mayfair/pseuds/Laura_Mayfair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU set at Caprica University.  Laura/Bill friendship.  Bill/Saul pairing and implied Roslin/Zarek.</p><p>Laura and Bill are supposed to carpool together.  She is unable to drive him home because she wants to visit the campus library to investigate a rival colleague whom she feels is undermining her work.  She arranges a ride for Bill from an unexpected source.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caprica University

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Plaid_Slytherin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/gifts).



> Written for The_Plaid_Slytherin as part of the 2013 BSG-Epics Holiday wishlist exchange to honor her request for fics that feature Bill/Saul. This is an **open 'verse** and may well end up being part of a series if I re-visit this (or if anyone else cares to!) 
> 
> Big thank you to lanlucy for the beta. And a thank you to plaid_slytherin for affording me the opportunity to play with your boys! =)

Bill packed up the last few items from his desk, going through a quick mental checklist to ensure that he wasn’t forgetting something. His third section of Classical History would be taking an extensive chapter test on Monday and he wanted to ensure that he brought home their most recent set of papers so that he could stay ahead of the grading. The semester was winding down rapidly and he didn’t want there to be any surprises about grades. There was little that annoyed him more than the appearance of a lackadaisical student showing up in his office on the day that grades had been posted with the wide-eyed comment, “But I didn’t know I was failing!” Bill prided himself on being fair. Tough but fair.

Laura was standing across the hall outside her classroom door waiting, keys jingling in hand, while he closed and locked his own door. She glanced tersely at the sterling silver bangle wrist watch that she always wore and then at him.

“Why is it that you always take longer to get your ass out of here on a Friday, Bill?” she asked him point blank.

Bill had been carpooling with the Literary Studies professor since shortly after her arrival at CU three years ago. Today it was her turn to drive.

“I had things to do. And I’m only five minutes behind.”

“Completely unacceptable when we’re on the verge of the weekend. I want you to know that I did contemplate leaving you here.”

“You’re in rare form today, Roslin.”

Bill believed that Laura really would have left him there in the kind of mood that she appeared to be in today. Bill genuinely liked her. They were good friends. But damn -- the woman had a calculating and pragmatic way about her that sometimes defied explanation. Aggravation seemed to bring out her persnickety side in spades. Something or someone had definitely gotten under her skin today.

“Dinner and Scrabble tonight?” asked Bill as they began walking out of the building.

Laura looked straight ahead. “I can’t.”

“You want to elaborate or is that all I get?”

“I have to go to the library,” said Laura.

Bill stopped. “You’re rushing me out of here to take me home and then drive _back_ here to go to the library, on a Friday afternoon?”

“It’s necessary,” Laura huffed.

“All right, Laura. Out with it,” demanded Bill.

Laura hefted the tote bag on her shoulder, which was clearly heavy and full of books.

“It’s Zarek. You know that submission I’ve been working on for the _Melpomene Review_? Zarek is submitting his own article on _The Metamorphosis_. Some socio-political angle. He won’t elaborate. He’s never published in a literary journal before. I know it’s because -- “

“-- of your long-standing rivalry?” supplied Bill. He barely suppressed an amused smile. Tom Zarek, a recently hired Politics professor with a highly controversial background, and Laura Roslin had debated everything from the history of time, to the re-emergence of contemporary classicism to reader response theory, to the role that technology had played in disempowering the masses, and a whole host of topics Bill couldn’t even begin to remember. The two of them could barely say hello without launching into a heated argument. It was dizzying. Heck, Bill loved an intricate and lengthy discussion. But Roslin and Zarek took academic discourse to a gladiatorial level of competitive ruthlessness.

“Exactly. If I can get some kind of inkling as to what he’s up to, I can counter-prepare. I’m going to see what I can get out of Cottle.”

Bill snorted. “Good luck with that.” Jack Cottle was the university’s head librarian, a chain-smoking old curmudgeon who was fiercely protective of his domain.

“I can be charming when I choose to be,” Laura insisted.

“Cottle is immune to charm,” said Bill flatly.

Laura pursed her lips. “We’ll see.”

She was unnaturally quiet as they made their way through the winding stone paths that led to the parking lot, her heels tapping rhythmically against the pavement. Laura stopped so suddenly that Bill collided with her bulging tote bag.

“I have an idea,” she said brightly. “Saul can take you home.”

“What?”

“He lives just outside of Caprica, too, and his shift ends in fifteen minutes. It’ll save me at least an hour of having to drive through the city then double back in rush hour. I’ll tell him it’s my fault.”

“It _is_ your fault,” said Bill grumpily as Laura steered him toward the Information Systems building. Saul was a jack of all trades, primarily handling the mechanical hardware aspects of the university’s computer systems. He was a terrific troubleshooter and problem fixer and he’d spent a great deal of time helping Bill work on the temperamental desktop in his classroom.

“I’m doing you a favor,” said Laura.

“Really?” said Bill. “Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it.”

“You’ve been giving Saul the once-over for months. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your desktop that he couldn’t fix permanently if he wanted to.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, Bill.” Laura patted his cheek. “You really are oblivious. He tinkers with your silly computer when he’d much rather be tinkering with _you_.”

“That’s ridiculous,” said Bill. "You're imagining things."

“And you’re just as bad,” said Laura as she deepened her voice to imitate Bill’s, “‘Could you take another peek at that monitor? It still flashes every time someone turns the lights on or off.’ Cue big blue-eyed gaze of quiet intensity.”

“It’s a very flukey machine,” said Bill stubbornly. “But if you want to play this little game, Laura, why don’t we have a chat about you and Tom Zarek?”

Laura promptly began walking more quickly, an angry flare in each rapid step. Bill managed to keep pace with her but he did have to marvel at her ability to speed around in those heels like a gazelle on caffeine.

“Zarek and I despise one another. Everyone knows that.”

“Fine. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to screw one another into next week. There are so many pheromones colliding in the air when the two of you are in a room together, it’s like prom night squared.”

Laura glowered at her friend as she waved her security badge in front of the sensor at the IS building entrance. Her voice was clipped. “I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer, Professor Adama. I don’t think I care to continue this discussion.”

“Well, I don’t want to continue it either.”

“Fine.”

“Good.”

Bill took a gentlemanly step back to allow Laura to enter the building first. Irritation and anger emanated from her in waves. Bill was definitely in trouble if she was referring to him by his title. He wouldn’t continue to press her but he was more assured than ever that his assumption about her attraction to Zarek was correct, even if she refused to admit it. As they rode the elevator up to the third floor in a tense silence, Bill’s argument with Laura shifted into the back of his mind when he contemplated accepting a ride home from Saul. He felt a nervous anticipation gathering in the pit of his stomach -- which surely originated from the aged elevator’s abrupt stop -- and not from Laura’s unfounded accusations.

* * *

 

Saul was finishing up the last of his Friday afternoon projects when Laura Roslin and Bill Adama stepped into his workspace. He looked up in surprise; it wasn’t often that professors ventured into this area of the building. He was more apt to go to them to assist with tech questions or problems. Maybe this was something big. It would figure there’d be some kind of emergency on a Friday afternoon when Saul had been looking forward to stopping at his neighborhood sports bar to catch the Pyramid game that was going to be broadcast tonight.

He liked Bill but he’d never really cared for his aloof girlfriend, mostly because of the way she flirted with that Politics professor -- and right in front of Bill, too. Of course, none of it was any of Saul’s business. He made a concerted effort to keep his nose out of university gossip.

“What can I help you two with?” asked Saul as he wiped off his hands.

Bill and Laura began talking simultaneously and everything came out so garbled that Saul didn’t have a clue what they wanted. He sighed heavily as he held up a hand.

“Did you say there’s a problem with your car?” Saul asked Laura, trying to make some sense out of the jumbled words.

“My car’s fine,” said Laura. “I just need to stay on campus to do some research and Bill needs a ride home. I know you don’t live too far. Would it be terribly inconvenient for you to take him home?”

Saul wondered if he had stumbled right into the middle of a lovers’ quarrel. Something unaccountably awkward lingered in the air. His mouth finally moved of its own volition as he responded to Laura; he didn’t know what words were going to emerge until they tumbled out. “Oh, sure, that’s no problem at all.”

Laura smiled and sighed with relief. “Thank you so much, Saul.  I really do appreciate it.” She turned to Bill. “Sorry if I was a little prickly earlier.”

“It’s okay,” said Bill as Laura planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Good luck with your research.”

“Thank you, Bill. Goodnight, gentlemen.” The click of Laura’s heels grew fainter and fainter as she disappeared out the door and down the corridor.

Saul suddenly found himself alone with Bill Adama. It wasn’t the first time, but when he was fiddling with Bill’s computer within the context of work, conversation came effortlessly. Saul had enjoyed their interactions so much, in fact, that he’d found plenty of viable excuses -- and several flimsy ones -- to return multiple times just so he could enjoy even more of Bill’s company. He knew it was futile. Bill had a girlfriend from whom he was practically inseparable, but somehow Saul couldn’t seem to avoid finding excuses to see him even if it was hopeless.

It was a mess -- but it was a mess that Saul found he couldn’t resist.

“Sorry about this,” said Bill in a tone that was sincerely apologetic.

Saul grabbed his keys and began switching off the lights. “Oh, I don’t mind. I’m going that way anyway. Where do you two live?”

They started walking toward the elevator.

“We two…?” Somehow Bill looked both confused and alarmed.

“Oh,” said Saul, who suddenly felt as he’d just put his foot in his mouth. “I just assumed that you and Laura shared an apartment, you know, since you two are -- “

“Why would we --,” Bill paused mid-sentence as he seemed to fully realize the implications of what Saul was asking. “Laura and I aren’t uh….we’re just friends.”

“Oh,” said Saul. They spent the rest of the elevator ride in silence. So he’d completely misinterpreted Bill’s relationship with Laura. It was unexpected; Saul had been so sure that the two of them were involved. He almost smiled but he wasn’t sure if it really changed anything. Bill was a history professor while he was just a techy. What would Bill want with him? “You never told me where you live,” Saul reminded him as he unlocked his truck and they both hopped in.

“Andromeda Street.”

Saul nodded. “I know where that is. Did you finish your work on that model of the _Zephyr_?”

They had always enjoyed chatting about model ships. Bill would often take a few minutes in between classes to work on one of his ships when he needed a break. He said it relaxed him. Saul enjoyed watching the intricate and quiet way Bill worked with his hands while he, in turn, was busy with Bill’s computer. Sometimes they said very little to one another at all but there was always an ease there, something indefinable that made Saul feel good just to be near him, whether they engaged in a lively conversation or simply focused on their respective tasks.

“Couple of parts missing. But it’s almost done.” Bill smiled proudly, his blue eyes crinkling up at the corners.

“There’s a little shop down on Pegasus, a little tiny place that you’ve probably gone by hundreds of times without noticing it. They have some parts there, not a huge selection but you never know….you might get lucky.”

“Thanks, Saul. I’ll have to check that out.”

“Can’t remember the darned name,” said Saul, “They’re closed right now but I could swing you by there some weekend if you wanted to take a look," he added hopefully.

“Yeah. I’d really appreciate that.”

Saul’s palms felt sweaty as he clutched the steering wheel. He was thinking about doing something that was probably extremely stupid. He glanced over at Bill. He was smiling, just a mere fragment of a smile, but it made Saul feel good to see it. He liked imagining that he’d help put it there -- even if it weren’t true.

“I was going to stop over at this sports bar on the way home,” said Saul casually, “you know -- to catch the Pyramid game. You feel like grabbing a beer, maybe a bite to eat?”

Bill considered the invitation. “Like a date?”

Saul stopped at the red light in front of him and felt like his heart skipped a beat. But there was no going back now. Sometimes you had to roll the hard six.

“Yeah,” said Saul. “Like a date.”

Bill didn’t hesitate. “I’d love to.”

Saul released a breath that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding and he heard Bill release one, too. And suddenly they were both chuckling and grinning, that same familiar ease returning. Saul felt so light that when he pulled into the parking lot of _Hestia’s Hearth_ , he was certain that he was going to float.

When Bill kissed him goodnight in the rain a few hours later, after good beer and great food and even better conversation, under the sheen of streetlights that steeped the pavement in silver, Saul didn’t float after all.

He soared.


End file.
